


My Blacksand Valentine For You

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:08:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23209030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: I’m late! Boooo.Anyway, instead of a fill for the meme today I have some primarily fluffy blacksand, in which we learn who taught Pitch archery and Sandy is inclined to grant a wish or two. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Relationships: Pitch Black/Sanderson Mansnoozie
Kudos: 9
Collections: Blacksand Short Fics





	My Blacksand Valentine For You

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 2/15/2014.

Even though it’s Valentine’s Day, and Sweet Nothings Bakery and Café is otherwise quite crowded, one small, two-person table set back in a corner remains inexplicably empty. Or, at least, it appears empty to most of the people there. The children who do notice that the table isn’t empty tend to not remark on it.

Pitch clutches a heavy ceramic mug of black coffee in front of him, not making his usual commentary regarding Sandy’s ability to obtain such items despite being invisible to human adults. Meeting today was bad enough, but why _here_? And why couldn’t they have met tomorrow? Just because they had been meeting every Friday since that last disastrous Easter didn’t mean they couldn’t meet on a Saturday once in a while. True, the décor could have been worse, but it was far more pink and red in here than Pitch was willing to face, given the circumstances. Large, heart-shaped cookies were being offered for sale. The doughnuts had heart-shaped sprinkles on them. Specials for couples were advertised on the chalkboards above the cash register.

It made Pitch nervous. Especially because Sandy didn’t seem to get it at all.

Pitch had tried to make the situation less awkward, he really had. He had suggested meeting tomorrow. Meeting somewhere that wasn’t quite so…pink. And Sandy had asked if he wanted to go back to the first, tense Fridays at the bottom of his lair!

It didn’t seem like such a bad idea, now. Because Sandy didn’t get it, but Pitch certainly did.

This was the kind of place humans went with their romantic, or prospectively romantic, partners today. Fear of rejection was heavy in the air, hyping him up more than the coffee. It felt unpleasantly familiar, as he sat across from his surprisingly friendly nemesis, on Valentine’s Day, in a cozy little café, _because it was Friday and for no other reason_. How could Sandy be such a space-case? And how could he, the little space-case, have been the one to bring Pitch to this ridiculous and miserable state? Wanting to pretend that he was on a date with his archenemy!

Of course in his mind they’d gone far beyond dating, and that was really shameful of him, wasn’t it? Sandy was offering him perhaps the last olive branch he’d ever be offered, and what was he doing when he was alone? Imagining the scent of Sandy’s hair, the texture of the skin just below his ear, the warm armful he’d be while straddling his hips; imagining pleasing him, making his starry eyes roll back in ecstasy—

_You’re quiet today_ , Sandy signs.

Pitch considers several possible replies. I’m still a wreck after nearly a year but now I’m a wreck who wants your body? Why do we keep meeting like this? I think I’m in love with you but you’re not in love with me so I really don’t like how we’re here on Valentine’s Day? He doesn’t want to say any of those, so he simply goes with, “yes.”

Sandy shrugs and shakes his head while giving him an exasperated grin. _Usually you hate leaving the conversation to me._

“That’s because you always choose something incredibly strange.”

_You just make too much small talk_.

“We’ll live forever, it’s not like we’re wasting time.”

Sandy brightens. _That reminds me of something I was going to ask you about! How did you learn to shoot so well, when you killed me?_ He asks casually as he takes a sip of his tea, heavily augmented as usual with milk and honey.

Pitch sputters into his coffee. Of all possible questions, Sandy had to ask that one! “I can’t believe you’re treating that so lightly,” he says.

The look Sandy gives him is inscrutable. _I’d treat it more seriously if I could. But it’s not a human situation and,_ he gestures around the coffee shop, _we’re playing at being human_.

“Does this have to do with some sort of symbolic balance that you can’t or won’t explain?” _And that for whatever reason has started to make me want to ask if such a balance can be maintained from a bed_ , Pitch thinks.

Sandy nods. _But you wanted to meet in human spaces once I trusted you a little more, so…here we are._

“If I pretend to be human, my lack of power is less obvious,” Pitch says. “I don’t expect you to understand.”

_Have you tested your powers recently?_ Sandy asks with a puzzled frown.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Pitch sneers. “I don’t need to risk any attention from the Guardians, when you haven’t even made it clear that this is official business or not.”

Sandy’s frown doesn’t clear, and the sand above his head doesn’t solidify for several moments. _Well…anyway…I still want to know the answer to my question_.

“Do you need to know it today?”

_Will the answer be different tomorrow?_

Pitch sighs. “No. It’s just…embarrassing.”

_I’m just curious,_ Sandy signs. _You never fought with distance weapons before. It was the only way you could have gotten me, too. But there aren’t that many beings currently powerful enough to teach that kind of archery, where the arrow was as much a part of you as my dreamsand is part of me…_

Pitch forces himself to blank his mind to Sandy’s unwitting implications. “Fine. I’ll tell you.” His voice becomes a nearly inaudible mutter. “It was Cupid.”

Sandy’s eyes widen. _CUPID?_

“Oh, I’m glad you can’t speak aloud, it’d sound even more stupid. Yes. That was who I learned archery from. That’s why your question was particularly terrible for today.”

_So_ …Sandy makes a fuss over adding yet more honey to his tea. _Did the arrow you shot me with…that is, there wasn’t any likely…hmm…bleed-over, so to speak? I mean, you did hit me unerringly in the heart._

“Bleed-over? Of…what? I…” No, Sandy couldn’t possibly be implying what Pitch thought. “I’m confident the arrow was pure nightmare sand.”

Sandy grins happily. _That’s a relief. Are you done with your coffee yet? I know you don’t want to be here._

“I’m not nearly done,” Pitch says, a touch louder than necessary. The café is awful, but it’s better than being left alone.

_Hurry up then so we can leave for Dreamland._

“Wh—why? You can’t be serious.”

_Why? Do you think I’ve been drinking tea with you every Friday for a year out of some sense of official obligation?_

“I admit that seemed less and less likely the more I got reacquainted with you. But any other reason seemed even more unlikely.”

Sandy shakes his head. _Are you always going to treat yourself like a wreck, Pitch?_

“And why shouldn’t I?”

_Because it makes me wonder how you’re going to treat…anyone else._

“Sandy, you know that I try very hard to make sure no one else knows what a sorry being I am. It’s only your own fault if you’ve looked behind the curtain and refused to be distracted.”

Sandy nods slowly. _Distracted…Pitch, do you remember that I was a wishing star once?_

“Yes?”

_I can still hear wishes, sometimes. When they’re close, and strong._

“If you’ve heard anything you don’t like, you have only yourself to blame for listening,” Pitch says, feeling his ersatz blood drain from his face.

Sandy gives him a little smile. _You need to relax or you’re going to ruin the moment. I was going to say that, though I haven’t done so in a while, sometimes I like to grant wishes personally._

Pitch goes absolutely, utterly, entirely still. “If this is just about granting wishes.” He pauses, and then continues with a grimace, “then forget it.”

A re-hash of earlier symbols appears above Sandy’s head. _Oh, I see. I shouldn’t have said it like that. But would you believe me if I told you I loved you? And that’s why I want to take you back to Dreamland?_

“Maybe we’d better stick with the granting-wishes thing,” Pitch says, sounding alarmed. “I actually think I could work with that.”

_Good. Now if you’ve finished your coffee…I’m ready to go._

“Oh. Oh yes. I’m ready. I mean done. But also ready.”

_You’re really going to need to relax_ , Sandy signs as he draws a door in the air. _And by the way_ , he continues as he beckons Pitch through, _I’m well aware of the holiday._

**Author's Note:**

> Tags and Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> #shot through the heart and you're to blame#you give love a bad name#Pitch you crabby mess#stop being dumb and take a nice big bite of that sweet peach in front of you
> 
> gretchensinister reblogged this from incurablenecromantic and added:  
> Eee! You did another one! Thank you! And, oh yes, some element of the ridiculous is absolutely essential to Pitch’s character, no matter how serious (or not) the situation is. :)
> 
> incurablenecromantic reblogged this from gretchensinister and added:  
> I really like this kind of nervous-wreck stuff. Perhaps it’s because I, myself, have been known to be a nervous wreck on more than one occasion, but I think there’s also just something terribly sweet in it. And honestly, I just love watching people get set up for particularly heavenly Oh-Ho, How Wrong You Are epiphanies.
> 
> Pitch’s internal monologue throughout this is both deliciously self-deprecating and absolutely sweet. You can’t help but feel bad for the little moron, because the implicit, aching loneliness beneath is so spot-on. It feels real for him, accurate to the character. 
> 
> His horror when he realizes that Sandy knows is equally wonderful and gut-wrenching, and I love the way his pride and (albeit limping) self-respect make him unwilling to take Sandy up on anything, if it’s some do-gooding caprice of Sandy’s, to pay him the kind of attention he’s craving. Granted that he’d rather assume that then have to face up to the possibility that something more serious is going on, I like the way he maintains some dignity, even though he feels himself being totally ridiculous as he does it.#i really like this one!#i think it's one of the first blacksand ones i read#still so good after all this while#also i want to say sandy's just a bit mean but truly i don't think there's anything anyone can do about pitch except#wait for him to tucker himself out
> 
> whentheoceanmetsky reblogged this from gretchensinister and added:  
> i just i don’t think i’ll ever get over how much i LOVE love frazzled, on-edge, so-far-out-of-his-depth-he’s-discovering-new-star-systems Pitch
> 
> its just
> 
> equal parts hilarious and endearing and baby no just stop please#KARMA IS A BITCH PITCH #ALSO YOU REALLY DON'T NEED THAT COFFEE #LIKE AT ALL ITS PROBABLY THE WORST THING U COULD BE DRINKING #FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOU IT CAN ACTUALLY CAUSE ANXIETY RESTLESSNESS AND EMOTIONAL SWINGS #GOSH I JUST #LOVE ME SOME TWITCHY HOT MESS PITCH #IDK I THINK SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PITCH JUST #REALLY DRIVES HOME THE FACT THAT HE KNOWS HE DID SOMETHING BAD #AND NOW THAT HE'S ACKNOWLEDGED HE DID A BAD AND HE HAS PROBLEMS #HE CAN BEGIN TO TAKE STEPS TO MEND HIS DEEDS AND HIMSELF #WITH A LITTLE HELP ;)
> 
> tejoxys said: *flailing* HAPPY PEOPLE. They’re wonderful. <33 I always love seeing them go out in human spaces, too; it’s just too funny.
> 
> thismightyneed reblogged this from gretchensinister and added:  
> ahhhhhhhhhh this was too much cute and I love how lightheart Sandy take the arrow incident after some time passed!!#is my headcanon that Pitch knew he wasnt killing Sandy forever#probably putting him down for enough time for him to act and win#i mean he was surprised when he saw him but not THAT MUCH SURPRISED#and sandy did took this payback pretty lightly in there aswell#it was just a sucker punch people#I think tooth even was more angry at pitch than anybody else in the final#but yeah that doesnt meant that he was a jerk for killing him#and he knows that
> 
> bowlingforgerbils said: This is absolutely wonderful, Pitch at his dorkiest and Sandy not helping. :)


End file.
